World Tourism Day 2021: If not now, when?
PEOPLE ARE TRAVELLING AGAIN. FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REINVENT ITSELF
Digitalisation, sustainability and especially social responsibility are the focus of the new concepts, according to Prof. Dr. Nicola Zech.
Erfurt, 24 September 2021 – The topic of "Sustainable Travel" is the focus of World Tourism Day on 27 September. Prof. Dr. Nicola Zech, Professor of Tourism Economics and Hotel Management and Head of Hospitality, Tourism & Events at IU International University of Applied Sciences will explain the aspects of sustainability and how it can reorient the tourism industry in post-lockdown times:
"The reboot of the tourism industry after the Coronavirus pandemic is a unique opportunity: the hotel and catering industry can rethink service and work models and adapt them to the demands of generations Y and Z. Airlines now offer much more flexible booking conditions and tour operators are becoming more digital, for example by switching to online catalogues. Suppliers also need to find new solutions when it comes to environmental sustainability: Individually packaged portion sizes on the breakfast buffet are hygienic, but go against the desire for plastic-free hotel management.
The upswing in tourism brings economic growth with it. However, this growth must also be distributed in a socially just manner and benefit those who have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Integrative sustainability concepts must by no means neglect the social pillar of sustainability. Students are demanding this, and teaching has adapted. So a new generation of leaders is growing up that will transform and rethink the tourism industry."
"Sustainability in Tourism" has already been a compulsory subject in the dual study programme at IU International University of Applied Sciences for several semesters. In the distance learning programme, sustainability management will be transferred from a compulsory elective to a compulsory subject from the beginning of 2022. In Bachelor's and Master's theses, students have been developing innovative approaches in areas of sustainable and inclusive tourism for years.